Winners summary

If you’re reading this, you’ve decided you want to be a winner. Whether you’re shooting for the corner office or dreaming of rock ’n’ roll fame, there are a few essential things to know.

First is strategy. Strategy is the how of winning. A strategy paves the way toward your goal; thus it is the most important aspect of becoming a winner.

Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov says that if you don’t commit to a strategy, you’re doomed to react to your opponents, allowing them to control the game.

The what of winning is your objective. You need to determine what you want to win before you can lock down a successful strategy.

For instance, if you want to lose weight, your objective might be to lose 10 pounds. Once you’ve defined your objective, then you can create a strategy to help you reach it.

Yet a strategy is useless if your objective is essentially unattainable. Remember: winners set goals they can reach.

In November 2013, Tony Pulis started managing the British soccer team Crystal Palace, a club struggling to stay in the Premier League. Pulis didn’t shoot for the stars and try to make the team Premier League champions in his first year. Instead, he set a realistic objective of securing the team’s position in the league – and he succeeded.

However, don’t confuse your strategy with tactics, or the little steps in between that help you realize your strategy and ultimately, your objective.

If your strategy to lose 10 pounds is to start dieting and perform exercises daily, your tactics will include things such as monitoring your caloric intake, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and joining a diet group.

In the holy trinity of winning, strategy is just one aspect. The other two components are leadership and “teamship,” or the elements that make a winning team – let’s explore those next.